Fabricated steel beam



Feb. 9, 1954 B. F. KING 2,668,606

FABRICATED STEEL BEAM Filed June 9, 1948 Smaentor DEM/0mm FT KING (Ittornegs Patented eb. 9, 1954 FABRICATED STEEL BEAM Benjamin, King, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor to JacksonvilleSteel Company, a corporation of Florida Application June 9, 1948-, Serial No: 31,869

2 Claims. l

This'invention relates to fabricated steel beams, such as girders, joists and the like, and has for an object the provision of 'a fabricated beam which shall be simple of design, economical of manufacture, and which shall have a maximum of strength per unit of weight.

A still further object of' my invention is to provide a fabricated steel beam which may be constructed from well known, readily available steel shapes which may be rolled or otherwise formed in any convenient manner.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fabricated steel beam construction embodying upper and lower chord members with interposed diagonally extending web members, in which the chord members and the web members are all formed from channel sections, and in which the sections forming the web members are so joined to the chord members and to each other as to afiord the maximum of strength to the beam.

Briefly, my improved fabricated beam comprises upper and lower chord members formed from channels with their flanges turned inwards. The connecting web members are made of short channel sections each bent in a V-shape with the flanges of the channels turned inwards with respect to the beam. The legs of the web members are of a length less than the distance between the chord members and extend diagonally between the chord members with the apex of the bend of each of the web members secured to the chord member.

Adjacent web members are made to abut, back to back, and are joined together. By employing relatively short sections of channels and forming the web members in a V-shape, I am enabled to employ lighter sections of web material than has heretofore been possible with web members formed from a continuous strip of metal. Also by employing short channel sections, I am enabled to bend the sections with their flanges turned inwardly with respect to the beam, thereby affording a better surface for welding or otherwise securing to the chord members, and can secure the relatively short sections forming the web members to each other, back to back, thereby providing the maximum of strength for the beam with a minimum of weight.

My invention is applicable to various types of beams, such as joists, girders and the like, and, as will be obvious, can be made in whatever dimensions are required to sustain the load to be imposed upon them.

A beam embodying features of my invention is I illustrated in the accompanying drawing, form Fig. 3 is an .end elevational view of the looking in the direction .IIIm-III .of Fig. l; and,..

Fig. 4 is an isometric view thereof.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention, my improved beam embodies an upper chord member I!) and a lower chord member H. The chord members [0 and H, as may be seen in Figs. 2 and 4, are formed from channels with the flanges thereof turned inwards relative to the beam.

Interposed between the chord members l0 and H are a plurality of web members l2 and I3 each of which is formed from relatively short channel sections and bent in the shape of a V. As will be seen in Fig. l the members are joined at their apices to the chord members It and H, the members is being inverted with respect to the members l2 and having the legs of adjacent web members abutting, back to back, and joined together as at M and I6 by welding or any other suitable means. The web members l2 and I3, as will be obvious, may be joined to the chord members [0 and II by any suitable means; in the example shown in the drawing, by welding.

As will be best seen in Fig. 4 of the drawing, by forming the web members from short sections of channel, and bending them in the shape of a V with the flanges turned inward with respect to the beam, the connection between each of the web members and its associated chord member is one providing the maximum area of contact for welding or otherwise securing the web member to the chord member. Furthermore, by thus forming the web members and abutting adjacent members back to back, as shown in Fig. 4, I provide the maximum area of contact between adjacent web members so that they are easily connected together by welding or otherwise.

In the joist construction shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, the lower chord member H is bent upwardly as at IT and I8 and is joined to the upper chord member 10 by connectors l9 and 2|. These connectors may conveniently be made from the ends out off from the channel members [0 and II in fabricating the joist, such as I So. and I 91), shown in Fig. 3, disposed back to back between the chord members In and II.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improved fabricated steel beam which is simple of design and economical of manufacture and one which afiords the maximum of strength per unit of weight.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, arm I; desire, therefore; that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims:

What I claim is: y

1. In a fabricated beam, upper and iower chalinel chord members having :their flanges turned inward'relative to the beam, sectional I V-shaped web members extending diagonally beflanges turned inward relative to the beam, said web members being bent at their junctu're's with tance less than the distance between said chord.

members and overlapping back to back, means rigidly joining the web members to the chord members at the apex of the bend of each web member, and means joining the adjacent over-i lapping ends of the web memberstogether.

2. In a fabricated steel beam, an ripper chord member in the form of a channel section with the flanges thereof turned downward, a lower chord member in the form of a channel section with the flanges thereof turned upward, a plurality of V-shaped web members rigidly joined at their apices alternately to the upper and lower chords respectively, each of said web members eing formed eta channel section with the legs thereof extending diagonally between the chord members and being disposed with the flanges thereof turned inward relative to the beam, the legs of said web members being of a length less than the "distance between said chord members ovilaiipi-ng to back and being joined together ifiti'mdiate the chord members.

BENJAMIN F. KING.

References 'fiii'ed in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,311,320 Jones .icfry '29, 1919' 1,704,235 Zabri'sli'ie l M-ar.5, 1W9 1,865,059 Ragsdal June 28, 1932 2,039,023 Hahn Aug. 3, 192?? 2,136,071 Braden Nov. "e, was 2,420,292 Baei' t a1. May 1 3., 'isi'i 

